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ONE HEART FOR THANKSGIVING

Psalm 103

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name. 2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things He does for me. (Psalm 103:1-2)

• Thanksgiving is a holiday commemorating God’s provision for the European settlers who came to America, as well as celebrating God’s faithful provision today.
• Thanksgiving typically involves the gratitude of blessing in the face of adversity.
• Jeremiah – “I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.” (Lamentations 3:20-23)
• The devil is always wanting to disrupt our thankfulness, because ungrateful Christians tend to be divided.
• “Let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15)
• As Christians, we need to have One Heart for Thanksgiving because it is a building block for unity.
• How do we develop One Heart For Thanksgiving?

We Develop One Heart For Thanksgiving By:
THANKING THE LORD FOR ALL HE HAS GIVEN

• “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things He does for me.” (Psalm 103:2)

We Should Praise The Lord For:

• THE GREAT WORKS HE PERFORMS
  • The Lord Forgives Our Sins.
    • “He forgives all my sins. . .” (Psalm 103:3)
    • “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” (Psalm 103:12)
  • The Lord Heals Our Disease.
    • “He. . . heals all my diseases.” (Psalm 103:3)
  • The Lord Redeems Our Hardships.
    • “He redeems me from death. . .” (Psalm 103:4)
  • The Lord Blesses Our Lives.
    • “He fills my life with good things. . .” (Psalm 103:5)
  • The Lord Renews Our Strength.
    • “My youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:5)
• THE GREAT CHARACTER HE HAS
  • “He revealed His character to Moses and His deeds to the people of Israel.” (Psalm 103:7)
  • The Lord is an Awesome Creator.
    • “Praise the Lord, everything He has created, everything in all His kingdom.” (Psalm 103:22)
  • The Lord is a Supreme Ruler.
    • “The Lord has made the heavens His throne; from there He rules over everything.” (Psalm 103:19)
  • The Lord is a Loving Father.
    • “The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him.” (Psalm 103:13)
  • If adversity continued and the blessings of God suddenly stopped, we should still be able to praise the character of the Lord.
• THE GREAT HOPE HE OFFERS
  • “But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear Him. His salvation extends to the children’s children of those who are faithful to His covenant, of those who obey His commandments!” (Psalm 103:17-18)
  • The Lord offers the hope of a Home in Heaven.
    • “The Lord has made the heavens His throne; from there He rules over everything.” (Psalm 103:19)
  • The Lord offers the hope of Righteousness and Justice.
    • “The Lord gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly.” (Psalm 103:6)
• What are some reasons you have to be thankful to the Lord?

We Develop One Heart For Thanksgiving By:
SHARING WITH THE LORD AND OTHERS WHAT WE HAVE

• “Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name.” (Psalm 103:1)
• “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John F Kennedy
• At the heart of any Thanksgiving celebration is the idea that we bring the best of what we cherish, not the least of our left-overs.

We Demonstrate Our Level Of Thankfulness Through:

• OUR GIVING
  • “They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.” (2 Corinthians 8:2)
  • How joyful and thankful can we really be, if it is not overflowing in rich generosity?
  • Most Christians are on a generosity journey with 4 steps:
    • Step 1 – Sporadic, emotionally driven giving (Acts 20:35).
    • Step 2 – Intentional, proportionate giving (2 Corinthians 9:7).
    • Step 3 – Biblical conviction to give a tithe (10%) to the Lord (Malachi 3:10).
    • Step 4 – Rich generosity beyond the Biblical tithe (Luke 21:3-4).
  • We need to remember that while we get to decide whether or not to be generous, others do not get to decide whether or not to have need.
  • Jesus – “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” (Matthew 5:3)
  • Our Everyone Needs Jesus Christmas Missions Offering helps provide for missionaries and missions projects that meet the material and spiritual needs of people around the world.
  • What can you learn about your own thankfulness from your progression on the generosity journey?
• OUR MANAGING
  • “Praise the Lord, everything He has created, everything in all His kingdom.” (Psalm 103:22)
  • God created everything, and everything in creation belongs to Him.
  • Responsible managers resist the temptation to Spend Loosely.
    • “Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have.” (Hebrews 13:5)
  • Responsible managers resist the temptation to Grasp Tightly.
    • “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. . .’ ‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared.” (Luke 19:20,22)
  • Responsible management demonstrates that we are thankful for what the Lord has provided, and able to honor Him.
  • This January our church is hosting Financial Peace University which teaches participants to manage according to Biblical principles.
• OUR SERVING
  • “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
  • Our thankfulness should overflow in service to others.
• OUR SPEAKING
  • “Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before Him, singing with joy.” (Psalm 100:1-2)
  • We should express our thanks verbally in Worship.
    • “Sing to the Lord, for He has done wonderful things. Make known His praise around the world.” (Isaiah 12:5)
  • We should express our thanks verbally in Sharing Our Faith.
    • “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” (1 Peter 3:15)
    • How thankful for Jesus can we really be if we never invite others to follow Him?
• “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
• Even when we face adversity, we should be thankful because it points us towards the Lord.
• “The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.” (Acts 5:41)
• “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28)
• What are you thankful for, and how will you live that out?

DIG DEEPER: Resources for Continued Study
What Does It Mean To Be Blessed Discussion with Pastors Dennis Watson and Manley Miller Click Here to View
Life, Money, Legacy by Dave Ramsey Click Here to View on Rightnow Media
Live Like A Missionary by Jeff Iorg Click Here to Purchase on Amazon

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